Chocolate Profiteroles

Ingredients:
Choux pastry:
5 fl oz (150 ml) cold water
2 oz (50 g) butter (diced)
½ cup (75 g) all-purpose flour (sifted)
2 medium eggs (beaten)

Filling:
½ tsp vanilla extract
1¼ cups (300 ml) heavy cream

Chocolate sauce:
4 oz (125 g) dark baking chocolate (broken into small pieces)
1 oz (25 g) butter
2 tbsp golden syrup, or 1 tbsp corn syrup and 1 tbsp honey

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Grease a baking sheet and sprinkle it with a little cold water. (This will generate steam in the oven and help the choux pastry to rise.)

Place the butter and cold water in a medium saucepan and heat gently until the butter has melted. Then turn up the heat and bring the mixture quickly to a boil.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and add all the flour at once. Then beat the melted butter and flour together with a wooden spoon until the mixture comes together.

Allow the mixture to cool for a couple of minutes. Then beat in the eggs with an electric mixer or wooden spoon, a little at a time, until the mixture becomes smooth and shiny.

Use a dessert spoon to place 12 golf-ball-sized balls of the pastry on the baking sheet. Bake the profiterôles on the top rack of the oven for 20–25 minutes.

Using oven mitts, take the cooked profiterôles out of the oven. Make a slit in the side of each with a knife to let the steam out, taking care not to burn your fingers. Allow to cool.

Add the vanilla extract and the cream to a large bowl. Whip them to form soft peaks, using the electric mixer or whisk. Then use the teaspoon to spoon the cream into the buns.

Place the chocolate, butter, and golden syrup into a heat-proof bowl. Place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and gently melt the contents. Stir well.

Carefully spoon the chocolate sauce over the profiterôles with a dessert spoon. Then serve immediately with any remaining sauce.